BELLY (TANYA DONELLY)

FOLLOWING A HIGHLY ENERGISING REUNION TOUR IN MID-2016, THIS YEAR’S RECORD STORE DAY IN THE UK SAW ALT-ROCK FOUR-PIECE BELLY RELEASE THEIR FIRST NEW MATERIAL SINCE 1995…

FEEL, a four track 10″ EP, contained a cover of HUSHABYE MOUNTAIN (from the 1968 film CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, thus providing another instalment in the band’s long-running series of covers of slightly creepy children’s classics) plus three self-penned new songs. Two of those also feature on DOVE, the band’s imminent new album (released early May). The band’s third long-player has a slightly mellower aesthetic than their 1990s work, and there is a worldly-wise tinge to the lyrics these days – but all of the familiar Belly magic is intact; shimmering guitars, soaring melodies and, of course, Tanya Donelly’s vocals. In this edition of The Mouthcast, with Tanya talking from home in Boston, Massachusetts, we discuss the record; how it came to be, what it means and more…